ICS Daily Devotions
The Shepherd Who Leads Us
John 10:16 (NKJV) And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
Every shepherd has a unique voice and his sheep will recognize that voice. Normally, the shepherd will call out to the sheep whenever it is time to move on especially after grazing at the green pastures. The sheep will not respond to the voice of another shepherd even though the other shepherd may be passing through with his herds nearby where they are grazing.
Numbers 27:16-18 (NKJV) “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.” And the Lord said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him;
This passage talks about the expectation of God towards His under-shepherd whom He has appointed to lead His people. He expects the shepherd to go before the sheep to lead them. Likewise, God will lead and walk before us to pave the way for us as a Good Shepherd. The wonderful thing about being led by the shepherd is his gentleness and the use of his voice to lead us. God uses His Word, His voice or the voice of the Holy Spirit to lead us. This is contrary to many who believe that God uses hardship, calamities, chronic illnesses to discipline them for their waywardness. Often times, it is our own awakening or being shaken by our tribulations, that we begin to soften our stance, heart and attitude towards the Lordship of Christ.
God has always been speaking to our heart and that is the reason why He has taken away the heart of stone and given us a heart of flesh in the new creation. He draws us towards what He wants us to do. He leads us gently and continues to speak to us about the things He wants us to do. There will be an unrest in our heart until we tune in and listen to Him.
God is the Good Shepherd who wants to lead us to green pastures and let us rest beside still waters. And if it is the Lord who leads us, then we do not need to be afraid when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death because we are confident that the Lord is with us. He will lead us out of the valley and His presence will continue to be with us.
Are we following His lead or are we walking on our own without heeding His voice?
Sermon Series: Who Is Shepherding You?
